Defiance Dominates in Victory Against MSJ

DEFIANCE, OHIO -- The Defiance College women's basketball team led from start to finish as they cruised to a 75-30 victory against  Mount St. Joseph University in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

DC was led in scoring by senior Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry), who scored 21 points on 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) shooting from the floor. Tietje also grabbed six rebounds for the Yellow Jackets. Junior Mekai White (Cincinnati/Winton Woods) added 12 points on four-of-eight (50 percent) shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with five rebounds and three assists. 

Senior Keri Conine (Ottawa/Pandora-Gilboa) chipped in with 11 points and three boards in the victory. Sophomore Sam Ervin (Bloomdale/Elmwood) led DC with a career-high 17 rebounds while also scoring eight points on four-of-six shooting (66.7 percent).

Defiance dominated the glass, finishing with a 27-rebound advantage over the Lions, 49-22. The home team shot well from the floor, as well, shooting 32-of-60 (53.3 percent) overall and eight-of-21 (38.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, MSJ finished the contest at just 13-of-52 (25.0 percent) overall and one-of-15 (6.7 percent) from deep.

With the teams exchanging buckets to open the game, Defiance (9-8, 6-4 HCAC) followed with an 8-0 scoring run to take a 10-2 advantage at the midway point of the opening stanza. DC's lead would shrink to four points, 10-6, before back-to-back layups from Tietje gave DC a 14-6 edge. The visitors then scored the final three points of the quarter to cut the deficit to, 14-9, after a quarter of action.

White hit two triples and Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) added a third to begin the second quarter for the Yellow Jackets. Ervin followed with a bucket of her own to cap an 11-0 run and give Defiance a commanding 25-9 lead. MSJ (1-16, 0-10 HCAC) cut the deficit to 10 points before a Whitney Schalk (Bellevue) layup spurred a 7-0 run for DC that increased the margin to 32-15 late in the second quarter. Mount St. Joseph trailed by 15 points, before a Conine layup made it a 34-17 contest at the break.

After the Lions added the first bucket of the third quarter, Defiance answered with 14 consecutive points, seven of those coming from Tietje, to give themselves a 48-19 lead at the 5:42 mark. The Lions finally ended the run with a free-throw, but DC added seven more quick points to vault the lead to 55-20. The advantage would get as high as 38 points at, 63-25, before the visitors knocked down a triple to end the third quarter, but DC still led, 63-28.

Defiance scored seven straight points again to start the final quarter of play and make it a 70-28 game. The Lions hit their lone fourth quarter field goal at the 3:21 mark, before a jumper from Ervin and a triple from freshman Sidney Faine (Bluffton/Ada), the first points of her collegiate career, gave DC a 75-30 triumph against the Lions.

The Yellow Jackets return to the Karl H. Weaner Center on Wednesday, Jan. 25 as they welcome Anderson (Ind.) University in a HCAC matchup. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip.